pam’s posterous

My first foray into making lentil soup (vegetarian) and pretty darn delicious if I say so myself.

Two kinds of fresh beets (red and orange) with goat cheese, eggs, cucumbers and grape tomatoes over a bed of baby mixed greens. Served with rye bread. Mmmm!

Tango Contemporary Cafe
Hokua, Honolulu, HI
http://www.tangocafehawaii.com

       

I grew up on hand-bottled chutneys made with unripened mangos picked from Hawaii's backyard trees. Mmm! However, just as I have leapt beyond the confines of our island paradise to explore the great beyond, so have my taste buds.

This article by Monica Bhide posted on NPR opens up the wider world of chutneys and includes recipes for Savory Mini Cheesecakes with Red Pepper and Green Tomatillo Chutney, Green Chutney Chicken, and Mint-Cilantro Chutney.

I especially want to try the mint-cilantro chutney (pictured last here).

Via NPR

1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile (Unopened can sits in my pantry…waiting for it to claw its way out)
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue (But so much bread and cheese—which would make it fondue)
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari (My absolute fave is the deep fried calamari made by Longhi’s in Hawaii)
12. Pho (Makes you feel like you’ve eaten healthy)
13. PB&J sandwich (the best requires fresh, soft bread, but my 13 year old prefers it on toast,, which I totally don’t understand)
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart (NY experience required)
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns (grew up on char siu bao)
20. Pistachio ice cream (grocery store ones don’t give this it’s due)
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras (Husband is boycotting because of cruel treatment of ducks)
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese (I kind of like the gelatinousness)
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters (raw oysters are fine, but have you ever had a deep fried oyster?)
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar (Does it have to be with a fat cigar?)
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O (oooohh!)
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail (Just made some last week)
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects (not to my knowledge)
43. Phaal (had to look this one up!)
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel (Tastes better if you call it by its Japanese name, unagi)
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin (to be polite only for sure)
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal (will remain unbolded for my lifetime)
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores (could use s’more right now!)
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin (can’t even find what this is)
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs (help me, no!)
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis (enjoyed the dish served at Edinburgh Castle)
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini (cruise ship)
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost (this often appeared at breakfast in Norwegian hotels…it is pretty bad)
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu (did the Communist officials on our visit to China make us drink this?)
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini (plan to mark this off asap since discovering just now it’s sparking wine with peach puree,)
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky (I’m not a big fan of Pocky and don’t see why people make a big deal out of it…)
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant (if only there were a 3-star Michelin in my neighborhood!)
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers (Look pretty but don’t add to the tasting experience in my opinion)
89. Horse (shall boycott)
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam (Hawaiian staple found even in the best kitchens)
92. Soft shell crab (mmmm – sushi!)
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta (there’s polenta and then there’s polenta!)
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee (doesn’t beat Sumatra IMHO)
100. Snake (ehhhh!)

http://bitten.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/01/08/recipe-of-the-day-cabbage-salad/

If Bitten’s cabbage tastes as good as it looks pretty, we’re in the game. Reminds me I want to try Margaret Fox’s red cabbage salad recipe using balsamic vinegar. My friend Sue Yates of Silverpine Lodge in New Zealand  cooks up an awesome wilted red cabbage that keeps improving with age. Local girl cooks good!

Ingredients
   * 1 small head white cabbage, about 1 pound, cored and shredded
    * 1/2 small head red cabbage, about
    * 1/2 pound cored and shredded
    * 1 or 2 carrots, peeled, trimmed and shredded
    * Salt as needed
    * Extra virgin olive oil to tast
    * Vinegar or lemon juice to taste
    * Black pepper to taste
    * Chopped fresh parsley leaves, optional

Method:
In a colander, combine cabbages and carrots. Toss with at least 1 tablespoon salt, enough so that leaves exude moisture within 10 or 15 minutes. If they do not, add a little more salt. Let sit an hour or two, pressing out moisture out with your hands once or twice. Taste, and if mixture is too salty, rinse and dry. Toss with oil, vinegar or lemon juice, and pepper; you may even need a little salt. Serve, garnished with parsley if you like.